Safety attachment for ladders



Jan. 6, 1925. 1,521,814

F. HOUSKA SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR LADDERS Filed April 9, 1924 Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

FRANKHOUSKA, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

:S-AF'ETY :AT-TACHM'E-NT LADDERS.

--Application filed April 9,+:'1924.- rSexiialaN 0. 7055360.

.1 0 all whom it may concert/2.:

Be it known that I, FRANK HoUsK-A, a citizen of 'the United States, 'residing'at Sta-Paul, in thecounty.ofRaansey and State ot Minnesota, have invented certain new --and-usetul Improvements in Safety Attachments for Ladders,- of which the following is a specification.

My inventionrela-tes' to improvements in ladders oi thetyvpe designed'tolean with the upperend against a wall,-roof or other stationary object. The device may be built with-the la dder but it is also applicable as an attachment.

Itis a well known fact that any ladder leaning against a wall or other object is apt to slide sidewise on .the wall andjfall down when wind blows .or-the ground is soft, or when a workman standing on the ladderhas to leano-versidewiseto reach his work. Such tendency to slide isreduced by the frictional contact-lot the 5 upper end of the ladder with the wall to the extent the lower end "of; the ladder is moved outwla rd from: the wall but r lsuch outward .movement lgives ithe .--lafdder a dangerous tendency'to slip, .onitherfloor or other surface supporting it, away from the wallan d thus cause it to fall. .Toyprevent. such falling 1311(5lICl'Cl61S121-16 often placed in so nearly vertical position that when a workman gets on it it is very easily overbalanced away from the wall with disastrous results.

My object is to overcome all of these dangers by giving the lower end of the ladder a pair of rear legs secured together and pivoted to the ladder, and made adjustable and foldable thereto as will hereinafter be fully described.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side or edge view of'my im proved ladder leaning against a wall.

Fig. 2 is a slightly perspective front elevation of the lower portion of the ladder shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 in Fig. 2 with the attachment folded to the ladder.

Referring, to the drawing by reference numerals, 10 designates a wall or other stationary object against which lean the rails 11 of a ladder having rungs 12, usually of cylindrical form.

U on one of the lower rungs, say the thir one from the ground, or 12 in the drawing, I journal the upper ends, or heads 13 of two bracing legs lithaving offset mocks-15 the lower ends of which g are firmly 1 1niitcd by a-h1orizontal.bar 16. Journa'led upon the middle of said bar 16 is a sleeve 17 having fixed to it a bracenbar 18 Fwrhi'ch 1s o-ifsetuat 18 about the :same as the legs lell-iaireottset ati-5, said offsets permitting vtolding of the parts to position ishown 'in Sliding movement of: the sleeve 17 is-prevented by cotter pins 17--orother suitable means, Likewise, a sleeve orcollar 19 1S-='II'1011Il1i6Cl onthe lowest rung 1'2 -bet-ween ;.pii-ns 19 but inn-order to get:this collaron the rungof ainladder it is divided in halves and secured togetherwby bolts. 20. The lower "hall" of the collar 19 has Lashort dope-n. ding arm 21 with a :slot 22 and: a? bolt whole: 23 tra-versing +the :slot. The brace 1 18 is -slidable in :said slot and provided :with :several-holes12 1 througheither of whichand l through the hole '28 1a bolt-orcotter j, pin 25 inay'beinsertedsoas toehold thelleges 141m @any desired angle relativeto. the rails.

' Pivotall y: secured to the; front-:erid of the brace 18 by a bolt; 26-is 3 a: hook; 27 @Wl-llCl], when thewatta chinent is folded u p :as in Fig. 3, is hooked lup on :a flung 28 so as to hold the parts folded. I

Inssome ladders-thereemay be no'rung a suitab-l e 1 distance from the 1 bottom I rung 12 with which to engage saidihook-tas-in 3. I therefore provide the rung 28 as an extra rung adapted to be inserted between the rails at any suitable place and there secured by screws 29 through lugs 30 of collars 31 screw-threaded one upon each end of the rung so as to be adjustable against the rails.

Vhen the attachment is to be applied to ladders already built each head 13 is divided into halves secured together by bolts or cap screws 13 and one of the halves has a screw threaded shank 13 screwed tightly into the upper end of the adjacent tubular portion 14 of the leg 14:, as best shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. In Fig. 2 is shown that pins 33 or similar means may be used to hold the heads 13 near the rails of the ladder to make the structure more substantial.

In the operation or use of the ladder it is placed at the desired incline for obtaining proper frictional contact between its upper end and the wall or other stationary object. The brace 18 is then adjusted at the pin 25 until the legs 14 touch the ground or floor 32 and, are thus ready to prevent the lower end of the ladder from sliding away from the wall even though the ladder is inclined enough to give it a firm anti-slipping hold on the wall.

'0' During storage or shipping or moving the ladder for a considerable distance the attachment may be folded u as shown in Fig. 8. The legs 14; and the bar 16 may be considered as a single yoke having two legs made either integral or of tubular legs with T-shaped pieces 149 secured on the legs by pins 14.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with the lower porle tion of a ladder of a yoke pivoted thereto to swing with its lower portion rearwardly away from the ladder so as to contact with the surface supporting the ladder, a normally horizontally disposed brace pivotally connected with the yoke and extending forwardly between the lower parts of the rails of the ladder and having perforations, a collar loosely journaled and retained near the middle of the lowest rung-of the ladder and having a radial arm with a slot in it for said brace, said armhaving also a hole with a pin in it said pin being movable into any of the perforations of the brace said yokebeing offset near its upper end and said brace being oflset near its rear end, so

and adapted to be engaged over a rung in the ladder and also to prevent escape of the brace from the slot in which it is adjustably held.

3. The combination with a ladder of a supporting yoke 'havingtwo legs, said yoke being pivotally attached to one of the lower rungs of the ladder and swingable with its lower portion rearwardly from the ladder, a supporting piece journaled upon the lowest rung of the ladder and having a slotted hole and a pin hole in transverse direction of the slot, a normally horizontally disposed brace extending through the slot and having several holes, a pin adapted to be inserted in either of said holes and in the hole crossing the slot; the rear end of said brace being pivotally attachedto the yoke and the front end having a pivoted hook adapted to hold the brace in folded position upon the front side of the ladder when so desired, and said ladder having a special rung for the hook to engage, said special rung having means for extending its length and for securing its ends to the rails of the ladder,

4. The structure specified in claim 3, in

which the special rung has a collar screwder.

5. The structure specified in claim 1, in

which the upper art of the yoke is hinged on a rung by bearings divided each in two halves and secured together by bolts, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my si nature.

FRANK HOU SKA. 

